corten roof vs. corrugated metal

We are building a new house in Santa Fe ( where there is very little rain, but hail and snow upon occasion). We have a roof over the living room ( 25x25) which is curved, and metal roofs slanted over the bedrooms. The walls are stucco. We want to achieve a rusted corrugated metal roof. The house is very modern with lots of glass. We specified a corrugated galvanized steel sheet G-90, 24 ga., Berridge Curved and Straight S deck. Now the architect has suggested a replacement, suggesting that we usee Corten steel. We are concerned that the weathering process will take too long to look rusted, and that it will leak/drip staining the very light stucco walls. We want it to look weathered as soon as possible. We also intend to use it on two exterior walls,
We have to decide by Tuesday. any suggestions?

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Seems you want the best of both worlds. You want the look of weathered steel but not the rusty runoff. If you can find it then Corten will definitely give you the rusted look. Make sure that the rain run off can not get on your fascia or stucco or you will be sorry. You can also buy a lessor coated Galvanized such as G60 and etch it with acid. This way you can get the mottled look. Remember that Corten or bare steel relies on the "oxidation" of the metal to protect itself and snow will cause it to flake and fail faster so use a thicker base steel.

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I am considering Corten as well for a curved roof, but the more I research the more I'm not sure it's such a great idea. Aesthetically my preferences are corten, copper, or corrugated galvanized or Zincalume. I would love a rustic-patina look which the corten and copper would achieve relatively quickly. For a standing seam installed, the corten was priced just about as expensive as the copper. The copper would last a life time but I heard a case of the corten failing in less than 20 years (this is not from salt air which has caused corten to fail even faster). Also the corten will definitely stain anything it runs off to or splashes on. With chemicals you could artificially speed up the ageing process of a metal roof to get the rusted look but I would think you would be comprimising the longevity of it. Maybe you could force-rust the metal and then once the desired appearance is achieved, apply some type of protective clear coat on it. I have not had any experience with corten myself, these are just some of the things I'm hearing. I am still researching my corrugated option. Please post what you decided to do and if you or anyone else can convince me I've heard wrong about corten. I love the way it looks!

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I also love the look of Corten but, ultimatel, I share your same concerns -- relative cost, staining, etc. Keep in mind that many manufacturers of prepainted steel and aluminum roofing do offer colors which look similar to weathered Corten without some of the other issues. Additionally, there are products available with various matte finishes and textured coatings (aggregate and powder paint) as well as some -products now with duo-tone pre-painted surfaces, all of which have an even more natural appearance.

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Any links to those manufacturers who offer painted steel or aluminum roofing with a look simular to Corten? Or any type of weathered look? If I were to go with copper (sub service is 5/8 plywood bent over framing) would you recommend 16 oz or 20 oz? Thanks

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service-surface, I'm a wreck without spell check. Another question: I have a two story roof where the copper gutters and down spouts will spill onto my one story curved roofs before running down into their gutters. I assume this would cause corrosion on galvanized and corten, but would this be ok with the painted steel products? How about Zincalume? Thanks

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Copper standing seam is run both in 16 and 20 ounce products I believe. The big difference to me would be whether the roof will have a lot of foot traffic. If it will, I would consider the heavier copper. The lighter material also might show more "oilcanning" on its surface though the visibility of that will diminish when the copper develops a patina.
There are several MRA members who manufacture vertical seam products, including ATAS, ASC Profiles, Englert, Custom-Bilt Metals, Classic Products, Ideal Roofing, McElroy Metals, and Petersen Aluminum. I would say that all of these companies offer various shades of rust and brown colors. A non-member company, Metal Sales, I believe also offers some two-tone colors in standing seam through one of its divisions. ATAS may also offer some two-tone colors.
Regarding run-off from your copper -- I would not allow it to run across any bare steel (galvanized or galvalume) nor any products which have just an acrylic coating. Having paint on the metal offers some extra protection but you'd want to inquire with the individual manufacturer as to how their warranty might be affected by the presence of copper run-off.
It would be nice if we had spellcheck here -- sorry about that.

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Check out Rusticmetalroofing.com They make it in an A-606 ( AKA cor-tin) They also do a painted that looks like an rustic deck.

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